At around 7.30am swimmers who had arrived early for a day at the beach saw the ship, which had 56 Syrian and Iraqi Kurd refugees on board, sailing with obvious difficulty towards the bay at Isola Capo Rizzuto, between Capopiccolo and Sovereto.

When the ship became stranded a few metres from shore, holidaymakers and locals quickly came to the rescue using their own boats, La Reppublica reports, while others helped the refugees as they arrived on the beach exhausted and dehydrated.